Delaware’s unemployment rate has fallen to the national average

Delaware’s unemployment rate has been steadily falling and is now approaching the national average. | PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC PROUSE/UNSPLASH

DOVER – Delaware’s jobless rate began to narrow the gap with the national average last month, state officials said, keeping unemployment low after the pandemic and unemployment rising in other states.

According to the data, 400 jobs were lost in August, but there were an additional 2,400 job seekers. monthly report published on Friday morning. 505,500 is a new record for the state’s workforce, eclipsing the half-million mark for third month in a rowand this is the largest monthly gain since November 2020.

The labor force captures not only workers and those on unemployment benefits, but also those looking for work and not on benefits. As workers stop looking for work for reasons ranging from retirement to childcare needs, they are no longer considered unemployed in the state.

Delaware’s unemployment rate remained at 4.1% in August, but was just 30 basis points below the national average, which rose 30 basis points to 3.8% last month. The 4.1% unemployment rate is the lowest unemployment rate in Delaware since February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was 3.7%. The gap of 30 points from the national average is the smallest since August 2021

The Delaware Department of Labor report is compiled monthly for the calendar week that contains the 12th day. Last month, 20,800 unemployed people were registered in the country, which is 200 more than in July.

The official monthly unemployment figure is based on continuous unemployment insurance claims and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of residents’ employment status. It tracks not only those who receive benefits, but also those who do not, such as laid-off employees, those who have resigned and the self-employed.

Unemployment rates varied across the state’s three counties in August, with New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties reporting unemployment rates of 4.7%, 5.4% and 3.9%, respectively, although these statistics are not seasonally adjusted. Wilmington and Dover, the state’s two most populous cities, saw an even greater impact on job losses, where 7.5% and 6.8% of workers were unemployed, respectively.

Trade, transportation and utilities led the way in job losses, shedding 900 jobs last month, followed by the education and health care sectors, which lost 500 jobs.

Meanwhile, the top job gainer last month was construction with 500 jobs, followed by the financial activities, manufacturing and professional and business services sectors, which each added 100 jobs.